 After Arthur finished his kibble, Jasper tied him outside the cabin
door and tried hard to ignore the look of accused betrayal on his
pal's face. Then Jasper got down the rifle and closed the door
softly behind him.A walk of 15 minutes through the forest carpet
took him to that little rock outcropping he had discovered more than
40 years earlier. He set the barrel of the rifle on a short log and
sat down. Only Jasper's camouflaged face showed over the rock
outcropping.
Then came the wait. The delicious anticipation. Time after time
he checked the direction of the wind. He knew he was doing well when
a squirrel came headfirst down a nearby pine and whisked around
within six feet of Jasper.
Then, about 10, and just about the time Jasper was thinking how
good another cup of coffee would taste back at the cabin, the woods
went deathly quiet. Jasper went on full alert. He saw the antlers
first, coming through tall brush. Two steps. Stop. One step. Stop.
Hold there for long seconds, then another step. Jasper sat quietly.
Two more steps. Stop. In a minute the buck would emerge at 30 yards,
broadside, from behind a tree. It was going to be a classic hunting
shot.
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And then, after a few more steps, the big buck was there,
broadside. Jasper waited until the deer turned his head to look back
the way he came. Then, in one fluid movement, Jasper brought the
rifle to his shoulder, put the front bead on that spot behind the
buck's shoulder, and quietly said, "Bang."
Then he grinned and waved as the buck bounded away.
Back at the cabin, Jasper rubbed Arthur's ears and gave him a
detailed account of the hunt.
"And I didn't have to pack in all that meat, either," he said.
"Tomorrow? A turkey hunt, I think."
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
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